Rachael Ashe
Medium: Paper
Location: Vancouver
Member Since: 2024
ABOUT
I am a graduate of the Creative Photography program at Humber College, and I am a multidisciplinary artist self-taught in paper-cutting and sculpting. I create hand-cut artwork and installations from paper. My work is an intersection of the disciplines of art, craft and design. I credit my former position as a photographer at the Textile Museum of Canada, and an extensive exposure to handcrafted textiles, as a major influence on my work with paper to this day.
I have taught workshops for 10 + years on altered books, paper-cutting, and sculpting. I organize talks and events, and have curated multiple exhibitions with a focus on fine craft, and paper art. I lead an on-going monthly event, Art & Craft Social, at various locations around Vancouver, to bring people together for social making.
I have exhibited across Canada, the US, and the UK, as well as been published in Uppercase Magazine, and the books Design Genius, Paper Play, and Rag & Pulp. I live and work in beautiful Vancouver BC, the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I create hand-cut paper artwork and collage focused on pattern mixing, and influenced by the design of textiles. My paper-based works incorporate a variety of designs, from highly structured, to organic shapes, to asymmetrical compositions, all flowing and contained within a larger form. I enjoy the challenge of bringing different patterns together in a single piece of work, to observe how they interact, connect, and harmonize with one another. Working with patterns has been a fascinating means of exploring history, the effects of colonialism, the intersections and influence between different cultures, the rich symbolism and meaning in patterns.